Chapter Three
Riley pulled up to the Rain Tower hotel and restaurant, got out, handed the valet, took his ticket, and thanked the doorman who had opened the door for him. Riley hadn't planned ongoing out for the night, but he couldn't spend another minute in Terry's presence before he either punched or kissed the man. Fate was a fucking bitch because it was the only way he could explain why he was so fucking attracted to a man that had rejected him without getting to know him.
“I'm meeting Morgan Russo,” he said to the host.
“Yes, he's been waiting for you. Follow me.”
Morgan was a dominant alpha that Riley met about six months ago at a Generation Business Leaders conference where they took one look at each other and wasted no time jumping into bed and have been fuck buddies ever since. Dominant alphas were rare and, in some cases, could be mated to another alpha. While Riley had been in the shower, he'd gotten a text from Morgan telling him he was in town and asking them to meet up. Riley readily agreed since Terry did not want to be around his uninvited house guest. The one thing Riley liked about Morgan was that he wasn't putting any pressure on Riley for anything else.
Elemental Love - Chapter Eight - Rune
The officer hadn’t spoken and was simply staring at him. Rune huffed, rolling his eyes, then looked down at the officer’s name tag.
“Officer Smith,” Rune called out the man’s name, adding some force to his tone. “Where is your captain?”
“I’m right behind you,” a gruff and sultry voice said in his ear.
“Captain, sir,” Officer Smith stuttered, coming out of his daze. “Mister Kristoph is here.”
“No, really?” Captain Kwon Jackson said sarcastically, making poor Smith blush in embarrassment. “Go do something with yourself, and for god’s sake, stay out of trouble. Rune, come with me.”
Kwon Jackson walked away, and Rune looked back at the officer, who seemed hurt by the captain’s dismissal, but he shouldn’t have. Kwon might seem gruff on the outside, but the big man was a teddy bear on the inside. Plus, he was serious when it came to work.
Chapter Nineteen
Before meeting with Charity, Victor had been ready to sign on the dotted line. But because of Charity’s words and what he’d learned about Marcus Sr., Victor decided not to hold back and made significant moves and plans that even surprised him. He did not sign the divorce papers; however, to make sure no one found out, he had his lawyers “force” Marcus Sr. to sign a non-disclosure agreement. He knew that once Victor Sr. found out that Marcus was married, he would blab it to the press and would cause nonsensical havoc in his son’s life, even if he didn’t know where Marcus went.
Chapter Two
Terry groaned as he sat up, hoping the pain in his side had eased up while he had been napping. He had gotten injured on his last undercover operation. He was trying to take down the Korinthian family. He had been working that case for four and a half years to take down the Korinthian family, and he had to make a quick getaway since someone had blown his cover. But in the process of escaping, he'd gotten shot in the leg and spent the past couple of weeks in hiding. Terry wasn't sure who ratted him out, but he had to lay low for a bit until he found out.
Truthfully, he understood Riley's anger. The last couple of times they saw each other, Terry refused to be in the same room with the handsome omega. But Terry had his reasons, the same ones he had even now. He didn't believe in the fairy tale thing called love. That was for his friend Winter, who had found his mate who had two point five kids.
Chapter Seven
“For fuck’s sake, Des, just ask my brother out already. I can’t understand what the hell is holding you back.”
“And as I told you, once Pierce recognizes our connection, I’ll take things to the next level,” Destin said.
“You realize Pierce will continue to be bratty and play you until you put your foot down. He’s already recognized your connection.” Keahi tilted his head and stared at his best friend. “Or could it be that you’re the one that’s scared to take things further?”
Prologue Part 1
502,024 AD
On board the Emberion, or the Flame, as it was affectionately called by its crew, a figure dressed in black from head to toe moved stealthily through the halls. His back pressed against the wall, feeling the ancient runes gliding over his clothed skin, praying to all the ancestors he didn't get caught before the job was done.
Chapter Eighteen
Victor panted, kicking the ball to Jessie, his midfielder, dodging number twelve, the defender on the opposing team. Jessie then passed it to Adrian, his team's defender, who passed it back to Victor, the team striker. He didn’t waste any time the second his foot touched the ball; Victor kicked into the goal and won the match.
They had just played their first game of the year, which would be Victor's last season by the end of thirty-four games. Victor’s feelings for the game had changed in the past two years, but he couldn’t put his finger on the reason, or maybe he didn’t want to admit that things felt different.
Chapter Six
Rune had to say it was nice to have someone to welcome him home, breaking the silence of loneliness. If only he could find a lover who wasn’t a machine that knew everything about him without him even saying a word.
Rune dropped his bag by the side of the door and took off his jacket. The smart butler set the temperature in his apartment, and it was automatically adjusted to his comfort.
“Rodney, order me some food.”
“Is there anything in particular you want, Rune?”
“No, surprise me,” he answered.
“As you wish.”
He walked into his bedroom and stripped, heading to the bathroom to wash away the day’s grime. He would have gone for a bath but was hungry. After skipping breakfast, thanks to the damn lion shifter, he’s also missed out on lunch because of a faculty meeting. Rune exited the bathroom wrapped in his fluffy white bathrobe, feeling much more refreshed. He entered the walk-in closet, opened the small fridge, and took out a bag of blood. He set it on the warmer while he got dressed.
Chapter Seventeen
Days turned into weeks, and Douglas and Marcus developed a schedule. They’d stuck to the ground rules for the first couple of days, but as they got to know each other, their two-day deal went out of the door. Now they had every meal together.
Marcus now saw Douglas as a friend, and nothing else. The man was fine as hell, but he wasn’t Marcus’s type. Marcus realized that even though Douglas had signed a non-disclosure agreement, he wasn’t ready to bare his soul to the man. Marcus looked around at the boxes he’d accumulated in the past few weeks he’d been living at the villa. The good news was they were leaving the following morning and flying to Oseka.
Chapter Five
Keahi and his brothers had assembled a network of supernaturals who could not protect themselves. The world was not as doom and gloomy as it was in the early years up to the late 2000s, when people like his parents were hunted down for what they were. Keahi wasn’t sure if it was a fortune or misfortune that the history of the existence of supernatural beings was lost and everyone lived in harmony. Keahi and his brothers were not relaxing their vigilance. His family’s life was better, and Keahi and his brothers wanted to keep it that way.
Chapter One
Riley hurried out of the trailer and got into his car, turning it on and peeling away like a bat out of hell. He tried his best not to touch his tingling lips but couldn't help it. That kiss rocked his world in more ways than one, but he recalled the regretful expression in his eyes after they had separated, and that had pissed him off and caused him to lash out.
Chapter Sixteen
Marcus woke up and stretched, then got out of bed and ran to the bathroom because his bladder was screaming at him. Once he was done, he crawled back into bed and got comfortable. Over the past two months, he’d done nothing other than eat, sleep, throw up, and go for daily walks or swimming to keep himself active.
Chapter Four
Keahi couldn't respond to his question.
"Grandstanding?" the vampire said. "Now, excuse me, my parents taught me not to talk to strangers, and I've spent more than enough time talking to you."
Keahi huffed and shook his head; the man was gorgeous but rude, yet he wanted to talk with him more.
"Professor Kristoph."
Keahi looked away from the other man and turned to his little brother, Sky when he walked up next to him.
Chapter Fifteen
Three weeks later,
Victor walked into his apartment and dropped his bag in the hallway, kicking it to the side to empty later. He’d done something he never did during his season break: left his parents' house early. Usually, he’d stay until a week or two before practices started. It felt strange that the holiday had come and gone, and although he’d had a great time with his family, it was time for him to get back to his life.
He had investments that needed his attention. He could have done it while he was at his parents', but he needed an excuse to leave without seeming as if he was trying to get away from his mother’s nagging. Walking over to the fridge, he sighed happily at the newly restocked food; his cleaning lady, Lucille, had gotten his message.
Grabbing a beer, he walked over to the sofa and kicked off his sneakers as he reached for the remote, switching on the television. Victor instantly changed the channel off sports news to something else. For three damn weeks, all anyone wanted to talk about was Marcus Reid quitting the league. Victor was sick of hearing about it. He needed people to change the fucking subject, like quick.
Chapter Fourteen
Victor stood by the window, wondering what the hell had happened. He hadn't moved from the same spot since watching Marcus’s limo drive away. He licked his lips, tasting the lingering fragrance of ginger mixed with Marcus.
Fuck, why is he quitting now? Victor didn’t want to say it, but he felt that Marcus's reason for quitting did not sound plausible. Victor felt that something was off.
“Are you okay?”
Chapter Thirteen
The limo stopped, and Marcus waited for the door to open. He stepped out and then extended a hand to help his mother out of the car. Reporters stood around taking pictures and asking questions he chose to ignore. He’d answer all of their questions in due time. Looking around, he spotted his father, and for a second it caused him to hesitate, but a reassuring squeeze from his mother gave him the courage.
Looking away from Marcus Sr., he told his mother to wait there for him. She wouldn’t be allowed in the men's locker room, and he knew his father wouldn’t try anything with all the reporters around. Marcus also knew that by the time he was finished talking with his team, Bill would be by her side. Bypassing all the reporters, he headed straight for the locker room to speak to his teammates.
When Marcus walked into the locker room, everyone was there, including the lawyer Bill had gotten for him to deal with the annulment and, later, his father. Marcus nodded to the attorney, who reached for his briefcase and pulled a stack of papers, then handed them out to everyone.
Chapter Twelve
Marcus sat in the limousine, leaning back and closing his eyes. His lips were still tingling from the kiss he’d shared with Victor. Kissing the other man was the only thing he could do to stop himself from telling Victor about the baby. On the way to see Victor, he’d been determined to tell him everything, but Marcus had changed his mind the second he saw him.
Not only that, Victor was the one who had asked for an annulment the second he found out they’d eloped. Marcus sighed as he thought about his grandfather’s stipulations. He didn’t feel too bad that he was passing up millions of dollars, but what hurt was that his mother’s legacy would be given to his father, simply because they had gotten married and had a kid. Marcus knew he wasn’t like his father, and it was the reason he couldn’t tether Victor to him when Marcus knew the man didn’t love him.
